São Paulo – In August, the literary critic Moema de Castro e Silva Olival released the book of essays “Brazilian Literature and the Arab Culture”, in which she assesses the influence of traditions of Arab countries, especially Lebanon, in novels, poems and essays of six Brazilian authors of Arab descent. The author, who lives in Goiânia, capital of Goiás state, said to ANBA that it took her five years to write the book and that she decided to start the project because she admires the Arab culture and had already written reviews of many books from the authors that are now the center of her analysis again.
The topics of her analysis were the works of Milton Hatoum, Raduan Nassar, Miguel Jorge, William Argel de Mello, Salim Miguel and Carlos Nejar. Some books, such as “The Brothers”, by Hatoum, “Um Copo de Cólera” (A Glass of Rage), by Nassar, and “Nur na Escuridão”, (De Koura ao Brasil, Ida… Retorno) (Nur in Darkness [From Koura to Brazil, Departure… Return), by Salim Miguel, were analysed in detail by the author, who is also a professor emeritus at the Federal University of Goiás. Within the books, the literary critic tries to find elements inherited from the Arab society.
In “The Brothers”, Milton Hatoum tells the dramas of a family in Manaus city. The author identifies patriarchalism as Arab “heritage”. In another book, “Nur na escuridão”, by Salim Miguel, family relations and trade are the central topics of the story, which portrays a family of Lebanese immigrants.
“I noticed a large presence of economic themes in the works, since a lot of the immigrants were retailers. Also common are the Arab culture themes, such as the presence of the man as head of the family”, says Olival.
She decided to write the book after spending years analyzing these authors. Some of them, such as Miguel Jorge, already had all their whole work studied by the author. “I decided to write the book also because I always admired the Arab culture”, says the critic, who is not of Arab descent.
Service
“Brazilian Literature and the Arab Culture”
Moema de Castro e Silva Olival
Editora Kelps – 236 pp.
R$ 40,00 (US$ 10.40)
Information: http://www.kelps.com.br/leart/index.php
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
